Brewer faces fight against Dem congressmen for party chair

The stage was set Tuesday for a bruising battle to determine the next Michigan Democratic Party chairman, with the 18-year incumbent, Macomb County’s own Mark Brewer, facing a strong challenge from Lon Johnson of Kalkaska, who stunned many rank-and-file party members by receiving the endorsements of Democratic Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin, Rep. Sander Levin and the state’s four other House Democrats.

The heavy hit taken by Brewer, the longest-serving state party chair in the nation, was compounded by leading opposition roles taken by two top officials who represent Macomb County — Sander Levin and County Executive Mark Hackel. Both had urged Johnson, who has high-level experience working on congressional campaigns for the national party, to give the Democratic delegates a choice at the state convention Feb. 23-24 in Detroit.

“I’m surprised by this fight because it shouldn’t be. It’s time for a change,” said Hackel, a Macomb Township Democrat. “I’m supporting Lon for many reasons. The … problems we have, it’s not the players. We need a new coach and a new playbook. We (Democrats) keep doing the same things over and over again and it just doesn’t work.”

Even though in November President Obama scored a solid victory in Michigan and Stabenow won re-election by a huge margin, the Republicans remain in control at all the key state government positions — governor, attorney general, secretary of state, Supreme Court, and the House and Senate. Labor leaders were the first to express their weariness with the party chairman.

For his part, Brewer vows to fight back, indicating that he will rely on his backing from 40 county party chairs and thousands of grass-roots activists to beat back the Johnson challenge. On Tuesday, he sent an email statewide to supporters that laid out his agenda for the 2013-14 term of office, including holding Gov. Rick Snyder accountable and ending gerrymandering of legislative districts through a redistricting reform process.

“I’m campaigning vigorously on my record and on what I want to do in the future. I’m going to take my campaign to the delegates,” said Brewer, a Clinton Township resident whose roots in Macomb County politics date back to the early 1980s.

In a letter to party members, the Democratic congressional delegation made their case for a change in leadership.

“In 2012, we were able to achieve some important victories. Unfortunately, we suffered disappointing state losses and we now face many challenges in Michigan with the actions of the governor, the state Legislature and the Michigan Supreme Court. We have a lot of work to do together to change this dynamic and win at the state and local levels,” they wrote.

“We believe that the combination of challenges and opportunities that dramatically confront Michigan Democrats today have called on us as elected Democrats to urge a new and inclusive chapter in MDP leadership.”

The move toward a Johnson candidacy for chair began tentatively after his losing effort in November to win a House seat in a northern Michigan GOP-leaning district. His 47 percent share of the vote, especially after repeatedly being tagged as a “carpetbagger,” was considered by Democratic insiders as highly respectable. A native of the downriver community of Rockwood and a venture capitalist for a Nashville-based firm, Johnson had established residency in the Kalkaska area prior to the 2012 elections.

But it is Johnson’s experience working for the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and as campaign manager for Rep. John Dingell of Dearborn in 2002 that established his political bona fides. One of his chief supporters is apparently the congressman’s wife, Democratic National Committeewoman Debbie Dingell.

Johnson also benefits from his wife of 15 months, Julianna Smoot, who was Obama’s deputy campaign manager and is widely considered a Democratic Party star.

Johnson, 41, said he received a call from Sander Levin about a week ago urging him to announce his candidacy and hinting at a public boost from the Democratic congressional delegation.

“But it initially started organically among people from all corners of the party who want change,” Johnson said, adding that the White House, the Obama campaign apparatus and the DNC will play “no role at all in this campaign. None.”

Over the past two weeks, speculation about a Johnson bid for chairmanship centered on the decisive defeat of the party-backed 2012 ballot proposal to enshrine collective bargaining rights for workers in the state constitution. The humiliating Democratic debacle in the Legislature in December that led to a GOP-sponsored state right-to-work law was also cited as a Brewer black mark.

But those familiar with the behind-the-scenes political maneuvers said that Congressman Levin and Sen. Stabenow started the Johnson snowball rolling based on the call for new blood, not due to Brewer deficiencies.

In Johnson, the congressional supporters see a tech-savvy 21st century leader who can engage much more emphatically in social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, to boost the party.

The UAW and the Teamsters were the first to call for a changing of the guard while the Michigan Education Association remains loyal to Brewer, who has thrived and survived as a pro-labor party leader for a quarter century.

Hackel said he was urged by UAW Region 1 (southeast Michigan) President Chuck Hall to contact Johnson, and the county executive said he has had several conversations with the chairmanship candidate. His conclusion was that Johnson represents “young, energetic,” inclusive leadership rather than a cliquish approach taken by Brewer’s allies.

As a 1977 intern for former congressman David Bonior, Brewer might be labeled the first of the “Bonior Boys” — a long line of former Bonior aides that went on to win elective office or play prominent roles within the Democratic Party. The Bonior Boys also served as Hackel’s intraparty nemesis during his winning campaigns for Macomb County sheriff and his election as Macomb’s first county executive in 2010.

County Board of Commissioners Chairman Dave Flynn, a Brewer political ally who has vowed to make peace with Hackel, said he doesn’t know Johnson and will continue to back the veteran chairman.

“Mark is a solid state party chair with a proven track record of electing Democrats from the state level down to the local level,” Flynn said.